


Childishly Effective

by WordSmithBreaker



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: Brain Damage, Childishness, Head trauma, Mental Regression, childish killer Ward, hitting ward in the head, kind of
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-05-18
Updated: 2015-11-23
Packaged: 2018-03-31 01:52:53
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,140
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3959971
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WordSmithBreaker/pseuds/WordSmithBreaker
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>May still had some beserker strength held back and it came out during her fight with Ward. A hit to the head that hard caused a lot of changes.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> It's an experiment I've been toying with for a while. Let me know what you think.

Melinda May prided herself on her ability to remain in control at all times. Control her mind, control her body, accomplish the mission. Don't let it become personal.

Personal is messy.

It became personal about the time she decided to nail Ward's foot to the ground. It became messy when she didn't stop the berserker rage that boiled up as she looked at his face, the smug grin despite all the blood. She lost control of her mind and, in that moment, she lost control of her body. The last remnants of the berserker strength boiled to the surface as she lashed out with one final knee to his head, the strength ripping his foot free and slamming him into the wall, his head impacting with a loud crack.

'Regain control', May took a deep breath, 'find your center.'

Binding Ward's hands together, and removing all his remaining weapons, May radioed in to Coulson.

"I'm done here. Ward is down."

 

* * *

 

It had taken a few days since the remnants of SHIELD took down Garrett and HYDRA, and Coulson was making his way through the base to speak with Ward. The reports coming back from his interrogations had been...out of character.

"Director." The agent guarding the door acknowledged as he opened the door to the interrogation room, "Be careful."

"Always."

Coulson knew something was up when he had a few moments of just standing there, watching Ward, before the other man noticed him. He could still see the bruises as if they had been made today.

"Wow. May really did a number on you." Coulson said after a few minutes passed.

Ward's head snapped up from his gaze at his feet, and his whole face changed when he noticed it was Coulson.

"Coulson!" Ward's face lit up as he shot to his feet, a genuine smile on his face, "Hi! You're here to talk to me today?"

"Yes, I'm here to talk to you. Please, sit back down." Coulson gestured towards the chair. 

The reports had been right, he was showing child-like behavior. Coulson didn't know if he wanted it to be an act or not.

"So, you're HYDRA." Coulson decided the direct approach would be best.

"Not really." Ward fiddled with the cuffs that kept him chained to the table, "I was with Garret. He helped me out a lot growing up. And Garrett was HYDRA, so I guess I was? I'm not sure anyone."

Coulson raised an eyebrow, "So Garrett made you help HYDRA? How?"

"No, he didn't make me. I chose to." Ward gingerly rubbed his head, "He helped me so much, taught me so much. I had nowhere else to go so I went with Garrett. I had nowhere else."

"You could have gone to SHIELD, they would have helped." Coulson pressed on.

"But Garrett was SHIELD too, and SHIELD was HYDRA." Ward made a high pitched noise in the back of his throat, "And bad things happen when you don't follow orders and Garrett ordered me to be a SHIELD agent. I was a good SHIELD agent."

Coulson wasn't planning to respond to that, Ward had been a traitor who didn't deserve to call himself a SHIELD agent. But there was something in the man's eyes as he stared at him, something begging for some form of acknowledgement.

"You were a good agent Ward. I just don't know for which team."

"Whatever it is you want me to be. You just have to tell me." Ward sounded proud at that fact, "Garrett taught me how to do that."

"Did Garrett teach you a lot?"

"He taught me everything! How to fend for myself, how to become someone else, how to kill, torture. Everything." The proud tone was still there, "You just have to tell me what you need."

"What I need is for you to tell me everything you know about HYDRA."

"Okay."

Coulson blinked, he hadn't been expecting that response. Reports indicated that Ward would shut down whenever HYDRA was brought up, refusing to speak to anyone and eventually demanding they take him back to his cell. He never got violent unless someone else did so first, even the time he had escaped his handcuffs and sat there playing with them instead of answering questions.

"I just need some paper." Ward continued when Coulson didn't respond, "I just want to help."

"Right." Coulson said slowly, wary of the eager look on Ward's face. It was if he was being honest, it was freaking him out just a bit.

"I'll send someone down with some then. I look forward to reading what you have to say." 

Ward rose to his feet seconds after Coulson did, hands jerking towards him. Coulson's hand snapped towards his gun but stopped when he saw the lack of intent on Ward's face.

"You'll come and see me again right?" It was desperate, as if silently begging Coulson not to leave.

"Don't worry, we have a lot of talking to do Ward. A whole lot."

"So you're coming back? I don't like the other people who come down." Ward admitted, looking down at his hands, "I don't like answering their questions."

"Why's that?"

"They're not my CO. I don't answer to them. I answer to you." Ward nodded to himself emphatically as he finished speaking, "So you have to come back."

"Don't worry, I will." Coulson made his way to the door, pausing before he stepped out, "Behave yourself."

Ward's enthusiastic "I will!" reached Coulson just as the closed, locking with a resounding click.

 

* * *

 

"You went down to see Ward."

It wasn't a question, Coulson knew that much. May had a way of making questions sounding like statements.

"Yes, I did. How's Skye doing?" Coulson continued walking, May falling into step beside him.

"She's determined now, her training is coming along great."

"Thays good to hear. I always knew she would make a great field agent. And Simmons?"

They took a turn in unison, weaving around the other agents in the hall.

"She's been waiting for Fitz to wake up. Tripp has been there with her, helping her focus."

"Any change in Fitz's condition?"

Coulson held the door to his office open for May, setting it to privacy mode once he locked the door.

"Simmons, and the other doctors, say he should wake up soon. We won't know the full effects of the oxygen deprivation until he's conscious. What about Ward?"

Coulson sighed, tapping his tablet and pulling up the medical reports and the feed from Ward's cell on the big screen.

"He's different, childlike. He ignored everyone else, but responded to me. Enthusiasticly."

May shot him a look.

"I know, he's a spy and he's played us before. But I might be right. Look at the brain scans. Whatever you hit him with did some serious damage to different parts of the frontal lobe. They tell me that's where a lot of behavior is controlled, so that would explain the childish behavior. And how he can't seem to focus for very long. I'm not excusing his past behavior, he has a lot to answer for."

"Damn right he does." May stated, her eyes scanning over the reports on the screen.

"But what we do now, we have to account for his injuries. He can escape at any time, he's proven that. And we can't account for how he'll respond if he's taken away."

May begrudgingly nodded, Ward was unstable and the injuries made him even more so. Coulson had a point, as much as she hated to admit it.

The pair sat in silence as they watched the feed from the cell. Ward hand freed his hands again and was scribbling across the legal pad Coulson had sent down, completely ignoring the agents who had icers trained on him the whole time. Ever couple of minutes, enough for it to be noticeable but not precise enough to be intentional, the pencil would stop and he would shift how he was sitting or correct how an agent was holding their gun before returning to his task.

"Is he....singing?" Coulson asked as he noticed Ward's mouth moving and his head bobbing slightly.

"Frontal. Parietal. Temporal. Occipital." May listed, "Its the bones. He's singing the bones of the body."

"May, I'm going to need a very big favor." Coulson sighed as he rose to his feet.

May raised an eyebrow, folding her arms across her chest.

"I'm going to need Dr. Garner to come in and do an evaluation on Ward. I need a professional, and someone I can trust."

"You want me to put my ex husband in there with that psychopath?" There was a deadly edge to May's voice.

"The same psychopath who is now humming wheels on the bus as he writes down our greatest enemy's secrets." Coulson reassured her, "Nothing will happen to him."

"If anything does," May's eyes were harsh and unforgiving, "Ward dies."

Coulson stared at the screen as she left, watching Ward sitting on the cot and kicking his legs, smiling at the camera. He had filled the entire pad of paper and requested more. 

"What a mess."

 

* * *

 

Ward smiled as he waited for the agent to return with more paper. He had to tell Coulson everything about HYDRA. Those were his orders.

Good boys followed orders. And Ward really, really, wanted to be a good boy for Coulson.

Bad things happened when you didn't follow orders. Like the Calvary.

Ward didn't want to see the Calvary again.


	2. Chapter 2

Ward shook free of his cuffs and leapt to his feet as soon a Coulson opened his cell door. 

"Coulson! You came back!" Ward was smiling, "I was behaving myself, just like you said to. Did you see?"

"Yes, I did." Coulson kept his voice level as he entered the room, "And I got all the information you wrote down. It was very helpful."

Against all odds, Ward's smile grew bigger at Coulson's praise. He had been helpful, he followed orders. 

He had been a good boy.

Ward moved to hug Coulson, good boys get physical contact, but froze when Coulson aimed an icer at his head. What did he do wrong?

"No hug?" He asked, confused.

"You wanted a....hug?" Coulson lowered his gun as Ward nodded, "Not this time. I need you to pay close attention right now."

"Okay."

"Youre going to have to put the cuffs back on first. Then someone is going to come in and talk to you, so I need you to answer him truthfully and not hurt him." Coulson explained slowly as he helped Ward into the handcuffs.

"I can do it!" Ward nodded. He was a good boy, just like Coulson wanted him to be.

"Alright. Dr. Garner, please come in."

Ward eyed the tall, dark skinned man who strode into the room. He knew him from somewhere but it hurt to try and remember. Besides, Coulson asked him to talk to the man and that's what he'd do.

"My name's Dr. Garner." The man sat across from him, a kind smile on his face, "What's yours?"

"Grant Douglas Ward." Ward answered, "I'm a SHIELD agent and a good boy."

Ward watched emotions flicker across Dr. Garner's face, impressed with how the man kept the smile on his face.

"Its nice to meet you Grant. Can you tell me about yourself?"

 

* * *

 

May stubbornly watched the video feed, with no sound nor possibility or lip reading, for any sign of aggression from Ward. She was already unhappy with having to drag Andrew into this, the least she could do was make sure he didn't get hurt.

"May, there you are." Skye stepped into the room after knocking on the doorframe, "You didn't show up for training, I was worried."

"Training is cancelled today." May's voice was clipped and her eyes never left the screen, "We'll pick it back up tomorrow."

"Is that... Ward?" Skye stepped closer to May, staring at the screen, "Who is he talking to? And what are they doing?"

May finally broke away from the screen, leveling a dangerous look at Skye. 

"Ward is meeting with a specialist."

"But why? We know he's HYDRA and what he's done. What more do we need."

Skye flinched at the look she received. She really needed to work on not pushing May on things. It's always a bad idea.

"The situation has changed."

Skye knew she was getting nothing else out of her SO when May returned her attention to the screen. With that in mind, Skye turned and left the office. Maybe she could get more out of Coulson.

* * *

 

"And who is this?" Dr. Garner pulled up another picture on the SHIELD tablet and presented it to Ward.

"That's Tripp. He's good and was on the same team as me. Garrett was nice to him though. He's mad at me too."

"And why is he mad at you?"

"Because I was a good boy who followed orders. But those orders were bad and made me hurt people." Ward admitted, biting his lip. The more he thought about it, the more it hurt his head.

"I see." Dr. Garner sighed, turning the tablet back around.

It had only been a few hours and he knew that a lot of things were wrong about the man in front of him. Coulson had given him full access to the man's personnel file, with SHIELD having been dragged into the light after the incident with the helicarriers it wasn't like he could hide them anyway, and it told the story of a completely different man.

Coulson was not going to enjoy reading his report.

"Okay Grant." Dr Garner rose to his feet and gathered his things, "I have to go now."

"Are you going to come back?" Ward tilted his head slightly to the left.

"I might be, it depends on what Director Coulson has to say when he reads my report."

"Is it a good report or a bad report?" Ward asked, his hands fiddling with the chains of his cuffs. Coulson said he had to leave them on, not that he couldn't play with them.

Dr. Garner shook his head, "Its not that kind of report. It's just information."

"Well, you can have good intel and bad intel and it makes all the difference on a mission." Ward pointed out.

"Then it's good intel this time. It's going to help Director Coulson help you. Does that sound good?"

Ward nodded enthusiastically, "Of course."

Everything Coulson did was good as far as Ward was concerned.

Once Dr. Garner left, Ward twisted out of his cuffs and rubbed his wrists. He hoped he did good, he answered all the questions just like Coulson had asked him to, and Dr. Garner said he had good intel to share. 

He just really wanted to be good.

* * *

 

"Did you guys know Ward was seeing a specialist?" Skye asked the moment the room emptied out of everyone not a part of the team.

"I really don't care what's going on with Ward, Skye." Simmons responded, puttering around the lab in what anyone could see as being a nervous habit.

"What kind of specialist?" Tripp asked, leaning against one of the counters.

He was clearly in Simmons' way and they both knew it.

"I couldn't find out. May wasn't telling me anything and I can't find Coulson." Skye shrugged, "But May was pissed, so it has to be serious."

"I don't see why you two care." Simmons slammed down what was in her hand and faced the two, "Ward is insane and he's the reason Fitz hasn't woken up, or have you two forgotten about that?"

"We haven't forgotten Jemma." Tripp placed a hand on her shoulder, "But neither Coulson nor May do anything without a reason. So something serious has to be up."

"Just because I'm curious," Jemma admitted, "doesn't mean I care."

"Fair enough." Skye admitted, "So how do we want to do this?"

* * *

 

Coulson knew Skye had been looking for him, but there was a reason he had been a good field agent. He knew how not to be found when he didn't want to be.

Which is why he coughed politely before falling into step next to Dr. Garner.

"To my office, if you don't mind." Coulson suggested politely as he took the offered file from the man, "Can you give me a quick summary?"

"Not until we're out of the open." Dr. Garner countered, following the other men through the sharp turns off the base, "Confidentiality."

Coulson nodded, briefly scanning the first few pages before closing the file. This was definitely a talk to have in his office. So with a new sense of urgency, Coulson subtly increased his walking speed.

It didn't take long for them to reach his office, Coulson locking it down for the duration of the talk. 

"So what can you tell me?" Coulson asked, breaking the silence.

"Everything, actually." Dr. Garner shook his head, "He was very adamant that you have full access to everything he told me."

"He waived confidentiality?"

"For you, yes. When I asked if he was sure, his response was that you were his commanding officer."

"Yeah, he's said that to me before. Didn't realize that it gave me this level of access."

"Normally it wouldn't. But with his mental state, everything has been simplified. He calls you his commanding officer because the chain of command is what he knows but he really sees you a guardian."

"Like a parent?" Coulson furrowed his eyebrows.

"Yes. But it's not just that, he understands the world through good and bad. There's no in between for him. Then you have to factor in that he has no moral compass."

"I don't think he ever had one." Coulson muttered.

"That may be," Dr. Garner continued, "But now he's like a child, his good and bad have to be defined for him. And since he's clearly attached himself to you..."

"I'm the one he's defining it by." Coulson leaned forward, lacing his fingers together, "Tell me everything."


	3. Chapter 3

Coulson sighed to himself as his fingers danced across the keys, shutting down down another of Skye's attempts to hack his computer. It was just one of the many things that had made recent weeks frustrating.

He found himself enjoying going down to play board games with Ward more than dodging his team. Ward enjoyed the simple things, like Candy Land, and Chutes and Ladders.

When he wasn't down there with Ward or stopping Skye's hacking attempts, he was politely declining Tripp's requests to see Ward, and using red tape to block Simmons' attempts to access Ward's medical files. Clearly they knew something was up with Ward, but he wasn't prepared for that conversation so he continued to stonewall them.

May was actively not helping him stop them, still miffed about Coulson calling in Dr. Garner. His shoulder still ached from when they trained together earlier in the week.

To top it all off, Fitz was self-sufficient again, he had his basic motor skills back, but even Coulson had to admit he had a ways to go.  It was because of that that he gave Fitz a space in the garage with Agent Mack. The younger man would benefit from being around someone who didn't know him before, and the mechanic was uniquely qualified to help recover Fitz's fine motor skills. It would also keep Mack away from Lola.

With a final keystroke to lock Skye out for the day, a trick he picked up from JARVIS, Coulson rose to his feet. He did have real work to do.

* * *

 

Ward sat on his cot, his leg bouncing as he waited for Coulson to show up. He was ready, especially because Coulson said they were going to be doing something different today. He liked board games with Coulson, the colors were really fun, but it was hard to play then for so long.

And Coulson said he'd get to leave his cell! That had to mean he was being good! Though he did have a bunch of rules to follow like no wandering off, or taking his cuffs off, or attacking anyone unless they were threatening Coulson's life. 

If they were doing that, he had permission to terminate with extreme prejudice.

Sometimes he mused terminating things with extreme prejudice.

Coulson was understandably nervous as he strode through the base, not that anyone short of May would notice, with Ward trailing behind him.  He was taking the back way to one of the lesser used training rooms. Not quite as hidden as his private one, but it was one most of the staff didn't know about.

It was perfect for testing Ward. Though he hoped nobody died. 

Several agents armed with tactical gear, paintball guns, and stun batons waited on the mats. They had been briefed on who they were training against and had agreed to be a part of the exercise, though Coulson had May do the final weapons check to make sure nobody had brought any live weapons into the exercise.

"Alright," Coulson's voice filled the room, "the objective is to bring your opponent down. This means landing a kill shot or subdueing them so they can't escape. Understood?"

Both parties nodded, Ward bouncing slightly on his toes in anticipation as he stepped on the mat.

"Begin!"

Ward watched as the team fanned out. There were seven, four for suppressing fire and three for close quarters. He knew how this game was played, it was one of his favorites even though it was Garrett who taught him how to play and win.

Predictably three charged forward under cover fire. Not wanting to get hit, Ward surged forward in a low crouch and grabbed the first attacker as a shield. When the fire stopped, his shield was dead so he grabbed the agent's sidearm and fired twice, hitting the two attempting to stun him between the eyes with perfect kill shots.

Not wasting a second he sped forward and to the left, sweeping the leg of the agent and rolling to the ground to avoid the next wave of fire. He blocked a sloppy punch and shot the agent in the head. He popped up and went to fire a shot at the last two agents, frowning when all he got was a click. In a moment of frustration he threw the gun, hitting the closest agent in the nose. 

Taking advantage of his unintended surprise, Ward rolled forward and sprung forward and kneed the agent in the chest. After that it was a strike to the throat, nicely he reminded himself, and a roundhouse to the head and the agent was down.

The last agent wasted no time tossing his empty sidearm and charged forward with his hands up in a guard. Ward blocked the first strike and retaliated with a kick of his own, smiling widely when he found it blocked and countered. It took a few more seconds of a steady familiar pattern before he realized he was playing with someone who knew how to play the same game. They wern't as good, but they were playing the right way. Not like all the other agents laying on the ground, they were bad at this game.

Thought all it took was a feint elbow to create an opening for the knee to the ribs and a feigned neck-snap for Ward to finish.

"All done!" His voice was chipper as he turned and addressed Coulson, "Did I do good?"

"Yes Grant, you did very good." Coulson responded after a minute if silence, "Thought I am curious as to why you didn't take your cuffs off to fight."

"Because you told me to keep them on." Ward tilted his head slightly as he continued, "Thought you didn't tell my one of my friends was going to be here too."

That had Coulson frowning, "What do you mean?"

Ward nudged the agent he just took down, knocking his helmet off to reveal a coughing Tripp.

"See?"

"Agent Tripplet, please go gather Agents Skye, Simmons, and Fitz and bring them to my office. We need to have a talk." Coulson's tone left no room for argument.

"Did I do something wrong?" Ward asked, biting his lip as he watched Tripp limp his way out.

"No, you didn't." Coulson reassured him, "But you're going to be a part of this talk too. Come on, I'll get you something to drink."

"Juice?" That distracted Ward in a heartbeat and Coulson felt a little bad taking advantage of  the man's shortened attention span.

"Sure, let's go see what we can find."

Coulson was aware, however, of May as she disappeared out of the room. She would be in his office before even he got there.

* * *

 

"Can your run that by me again? Just one more time." 

Skye was understandably confused at the information being presented to her. She understood the basics: brain damage, childishness, inability to comprehend complex concepts, no moral compass. But she hoped heading it a third time would help fill in the gaps.

"Is that even possible?" She asked Simmons, who had just finished checking Tripp for injuries.

"Brain injuries are tricky, but it is possible. I'm more worried about the possibility of this being another ruse like the last time." Simmons shot Ward a dirty look, "He fooled SHIELD for years, how do we knew this isn't the HYDRA takeover all over again?"

Ward stared at his feet, shuffling side to side, and mumbled something only Coulson could hear. Coulson muttered something back and Ward took half a step behind the director's chair. 

"Trust me, he's not HYDRA. And he's not a threat to us Jemma. You have to trust me on this." Coulson reassured.

He was the only one who heard May snort from her concealed spot.

"I have to agree with Coulson on this one." Tripp chimed in, "He could have killed all of us in that training exercise but he didn't. Those moves were all Ward to the core."

"We were just playing a game." Ward stated quietly, " Wasn't supposed to hurt anyone."

"Fitz," Simmons placed a hand on his shoulder, "what do you think about this? You've been awfully quiet this whole time."

"I-I think th-that...h-he is...it's..." Fitz struggled for several moments before growling, "Fine."

"What do you mean by fine? As in you're perfectly fine with it or you can accept what's going on?" She continued, keeping her tone encouraging.

"Acc-acceptable. C-can't trust. N-n-not again." Fitz shrugged, "Different."

That sealed it for most of the team, if Fitz could accept that Ward was different now they would have to. It didn't mean trust by any stretch of the imagination but they knew he was different.

Simmons remained unconvinced.

"He's a spy." She insisted, "This could just be another mission for him. I don't think we should be trusting him this much."

Having had enough of the circular, May stepped out of her hiding spot and into Ward's line of sight. The reaction was instantaneous, Ward yelped and dived under Coulson's desk out of sight. In the silence afterwards, the whole team could hear the low whimpering coming from his hiding spot.

"That is proof enough." May spun on her heel and disappeared as the room stared in shock.

"Understand that Ward is going to be a part of the team in time, and have roam of the base." Coulson pounced on the silence, "If you want nothing to do with him, leave him alone. If you want to spend time with him, take it slow. I will tolerate no abusing his mental state or him. Dismissed."

Skye lingered behind as the others left, Tripp moving to talk to Simmons and Fitz bolting for his hideaway in the garage.

"DC." Skye kept her voice calm, "You doing okay?"

Coulson was already kneeling behind his desk, but Skye could see how weary he looked when his Director mask fell away. He was attempting to bribe Ward out with the promise of juice and possibly cookies.

"As okay as I can be Skye." Coulson's head popped up for a moment.

"Need a hand?"

There were some hushed whispers before Coulson popped back up with a smile.

"Actually Skye, that would be great."


	4. Chapter 4

May kept her eyes trained on Ward at all times as the man as he sparred with Skye. She didn’t need to, part of her brain told her, it was visible with every movement that he was playing with Skye. Not in the predatory sense, but rather he was treating as if it were a game.

Skye was not treating it that way, fighting with all of her growing ability against Ward. With a move that would have ripped Ward’s arm out of socket had he not rolled just right, Skye slammed him into the mats before locking his arm into an arm-bar. Despite the obvious pain, Ward had a grin on his face as he congratulated Skye and adjusted her technique so she’d get the best result.

She saw Coulson make a mental note, he always looked down slightly when he was making one. Another part of her, the part that still loved Andrew, rebelled as she took note of the action. That meant Andrew was going to back in eventually and in with Ward for another session.

She hated the very idea of him being around that psychopath, no matter how safe Coulson and Andrew believed him to be.

After a quick tap on the mat, Skye let Ward up and the two quickly settled into their ready stances. Skye looked a little worse for wear, brushing a stray bang out of her face, but still ready to go.

May made a mental note, Skye’s endurance was quickly improving.

They danced for a few moments, Skye testing the defenses of Ward’s new style while Ward altered his stance slightly to compensate for Skye learning. Then they were moving, Skye throwing a few jabs before feinting into a knee that took Ward by surprise. The man stumbled for a moment and Skye pressed her advantage while it lasted. Ward regained his footing quickly and twisted under Skye’s grab attempt, grabbing her arm and slamming her down.

“Impressive.” Coulson commented, “You’ve done great with her.”

“She had the potential. Quick learner.” May nodded, never taking her eyes off the two.

“Almost inhuman, how fast she’s picked this up.” Coulson commented as Skye took Ward down again, “Krav Maga?”

“It helps with her anger.”

Coulson nodded, “It helped you.”

May shot Coulson Look #15, which he knew meant ‘shut up, you said something stupid.’

There was another slam on the mat as Ward rolled them down before going for the knockout punch. Coulson called an end to the match and Skye let out an audible noise of relief as Ward bounded up and snatched up the two bottles of water before returning and offering one to her.

May sniffed. She remembered when she had that kind of energy, though she knew she hadn’t been the only one to see Ward’s knee falter for a moment.

“It isn’t safe for him to be in the field.” May commented.

“Oh, I knew that.” Coulson gave her Smirk #6, “Sleight of Hand, oldest trick in the book..”

May rolled her eyes, “Of course.”

She had seen it coming, everyone was so distracted by trying to keep Ward out of the field that they never gave a second thought to the fact that Ward had his own private room and free roam of most areas of the base. Nobody ever noticed because Coulson or Skye were always with him as he roamed around.

“Alright you two, hit the showers and relax.” Coulson called out, “Its game night tonight and Tripp wants everyone there.”

“He’s getting cocky again.” Skye groaned as she propped herself up on her elbows, “Guess I’ll have to remind him who the best is.”

Ward’s laugh, because May refused to call it a giggle, filled the room. His fine motor skills weren’t good enough to keep up with the game and his own instincts, but he did enjoy watching the action and his enthusiasm made things livelier.

So it was easy to see why Ward was the first one on his feet to go shower, Coulson following behind at a distance. Some things Ward still needed help with, even May acknowledged.

The man could disassemble and reassemble any kind of weapon in under a minute, but getting his shirt off unaided was a bit much for him to handle.

A crippled predator, May thought as she turned to leave, is still deadly.

* * *

 

Grant Ward was facing a conundrum, a very serious one. His friends were busily playing games, not the kind Garrett taught him because that would get blood on the flood and Coulson wouldn’t like that, so he couldn’t go to them.

So it was a solo mission.

With that in mind, Grant proceeded to reach down and attempt to tie his shoe. He knew not to knot them, Skye had talked with him about not doing that as they sat an unknotted his shoes one night, but his hands wouldn’t do the practiced motions to tie them.

Coulson had gotten Velcro shoes for him but they weren’t in yet.

Tripp constantly told him to keep his shoes tied so he wouldn’t trip and fall again.

After a few attempts, each that ended in failure, Grant let out a frustrated growl and snatched his water bottle off the counter. He made a face as he took a drink, they were adding stuff to his juice and it made it taste gross. Not as bad as watering it down, which Mack had tried once and Grant had been made to mop up the mess, but enough that he could taste it.

Simmons had explained what they were adding several times, but all Grant cared about was taste. But Coulson had asked him, very nicely, to drink as much as he could.

So that was the only reason he tolerated it.

“You okay Ward?” Skye had turned around on the couch when she heard the growl.

“I’m fine. Watch out, Tripp has a shot.” Ward pointed at the screen.

“The hell he does.” Mack’s voice rumbled, his avatar sneaking up behind Tripp’s and performing a stealth takedown, “Good eyes Kid.”

Ward smiled and set his drink down, glad to have helped, before turning his attention back to his shoes. He could do this, it was no harder than lining up a sniper shot right?

Grab, pull, cross and pull through tight, loop, wrap and….and…

Grant huffed and tucked his laces into his shoe. Problem solved, now he wouldn’t trip.

“A-again.” A soft voice spoke from his right.

Grant blinked, eyeing Fitz carefully. He knew he had done a Bad Thing to Fitz and that’s why he was different now. Coulson had warned him, gently, to be careful around Fitz.

“A-a-again.” Fitz pointed to the untied shoe.

“It’s fine.” Grant responded, tucking the foot behind his other leg.

Fitz took the seat next to Grant, “Again. H-help.”

Keeping Coulson’s words in his mind, Grant slowly offered his foot up.

* * *

 

“Check it out.” Tripp paused the match and tilted his head towards the two sitting in chairs behind them.

Everyone kept a close eye as they resumed their match. Nobody wanted anything bad to happed, especially when both of them are making such great progress. Tripp casually draped a leg across Jemma’s lap to keep her from interfering.

“Chill. We’re good for right now.” Tripp grinned at her.

“The hell you are.” Skye grinned, “Headshot.”

It was that moment with a black armored SPARTAN, because everyone appreciated the sheer irony of SHIELD agents playing Halo, snuck up behind Skye and stealth killed her.

“Don’t be overconfident. It’s unbecoming.” May smirked as she handed her controller over to Coulson.

That’s how they made it fair, trading players after each kill. Otherwise it wasn’t any fun.

“Over, under, around and through. Meet Mr. Bunny Rabbit, pull and through!” Ward’s voice sang cheerfully.

Everyone turned, watching as Ward repeated the rhyme as he tied his shoe. Fitz watched carefully, nodding when Ward did it by himself before tugging the laces untied again. Ward smiled before doing it all over again.

“Good job Grant.” Coulson commented from his spot on the couch.

Fitz’s face went red as he jumped while Ward beamed under the praise.

“I still want Velcro shoes.” Ward stated, “My hands hurt doing this.”

Skye was the first to laugh at the look on his face and everyone followed suit pretty quickly. Eventually Ward gave up his stubborn bout to laugh at himself.

He didn’t understand what was so funny but if everyone else was laughing, it had to be something funny.


End file.
